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Boosted by brib@bribstodon.xyz ("brib :neofox_floof: :Nonbinary:"):
lynnesbian@fedi.lynnesbian.space ("Lynnesbian :bune_ylw:") wrote:
for the roughly 8% of uni students still generating their essays by hand: i regret to inform you that the word grammar checker (assigned green squiggle underline at birth, transitioned to double stroke blue underline. happy pride month everyone) has wisened up to several of my standard "word count reacher" tricks. it now suggests the following """fixes""":
- "the aforementioned widgets" -> "the widgets"
- "a number of gizmos" -> "many gizmos"
- and, worst of all, my most reliable and enduring friend: "due to the fact that" -> "because"
horrifyingly enough, it's even beginning to discover and suggest the removal of redundant adjectives. it occasionally suggests replacements like "a reliable bedrock" -> "a bedrock".
we can argue about the more existentially/cosmically disturbing erosion of writer's voice into a homogeneous Microsoft Approved Standard Voice, but of far more concern is this blatant attempt on our god-given right to bloviate on assignments. if the only difference in the rubric for a distinction vs a high distinction is the word "remarkably" becoming "exceptionally", you better believe i'm expanding "john (20xx) shows" into "the study by john (20xx) reveals that a group of researchers were able to demonstrate that".
stay safe out there folks.